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Message from the Chairperson
I am pleased to present to Parliament and to Canadians the annual Performance Report of the Canada Industrial Relations Board (the CIRB or the Board) for the period ending March 31, 2011.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board has a mandate to support constructive labour-management relations in the sectors regulated by the Canada Labour Code (Part I–Industrial Relations). In order to achieve this objective, the Board provides a variety of dispute resolution services. It adjudicates matters where necessary, but it also focuses on providing mediation assistance at all stages of a case, in order to proactively seek a resolution of matters that best meets the needs of the parties. We are encouraged by the positive results that have been achieved through this approach and intend to continue our efforts to support labour and management in improving their workplace relationships.
At the conclusion of this last fiscal year (April 2010–March 2011), the number of incoming matters remained stable, but the Board, again this year, disposed of more cases than it received. This has had a positive impact on reducing the number of pending matters. In addition, less than 12% of these matters have been pending for more than two years, which is a significant improvement over previous years.
During the year, we also initiated a substantive review of the Canada Industrial Relations Board Regulations, 2001 (the Regulations) in order to make them more clear, modern and practical. The Board has conducted an internal review of the Regulations and is currently consulting with the labour law and labour relations community about which processes work well and which could be improved upon.
We have made significant progress towards establishing an effective dispute resolution agency that is able to meet the needs and expectations of the labour relations community. With the continued involvement of our clients, and dedication of the Board's Vice-Chairpersons, Members and staff, I am confident that the CIRB will continue to successfully meet the challenges ahead.
Elizabeth MacPherson
Chairperson
Section I: Organizational Overview
Raison d’être
The mandate of the Canada Industrial Relations Board (the CIRB or the Board) is to contribute to and promote a harmonious industrial relations climate in the federally regulated private sector through the impartial, effective and appropriate administration of the legislation governing labour and management in their representational and bargaining activities. To achieve this mandate, the Board seeks to provide effective industrial relations solutions for the Canadian labour relations community in a fair and timely manner.
Responsibilities
The CIRB is an independent, representational, quasi-judicial tribunal responsible for the interpretation and application of Part I (Industrial Relations) and certain provisions of Part II (Occupational Health and Safety) of the Canada Labour Code (the Code). The Board was established in January 1999, to replace the previous Canada Labour Relations Board, through amendments to Part I of the Code.
Part I of the Code establishes the framework for collective bargaining, the acquisition and termination of bargaining rights, unfair labour practices and protection of the public interest in the event of work stoppages affecting essential services.
The CIRB has jurisdiction in all provinces and territories with respect to federal works, undertakings or businesses in the following sectors:
- Broadcasting
- Chartered banks
- Postal services
- Airports and air transportation
- Shipping and navigation
- Interprovincial or international transportation by road, railway, ferry or pipeline
- Telecommunications
- Grain handling and uranium mining and processing
- Most public and private sector activities in the Yukon, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories
- Some First Nations undertakings
- Federal Crown corporations (including, among others, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited and the national museums)
The federal jurisdiction covers some 800,000 employees and their employers, and includes enterprises that have a significant economic, social, and cultural impact on Canadians from coast to coast. The variety of activities conducted in the federally regulated private sector, as well as its geographical scope and national significance, contribute to the uniqueness of the federal jurisdiction and the role of the CIRB.
The Board's role is to exercise its powers in accordance with the Preamble and provisions of the Code, which state that Parliament considers ”the development of good industrial relations to be in the best interests of Canada in ensuring a just share of the fruits of progress to all.” To that end, the Board aims to be responsive to the needs of the industrial relations community across Canada.
Departmental Organization
The Code provides that the Board is to be composed of the Chairperson, two or more full-time Vice-Chairpersons, not more than six full-time Members (of which not more than three represent employers and not more than three represent employees) and any other part-time Members (representing, in equal numbers, employees and employers) necessary to discharge the responsibilities of the Board. All are appointed by the Governor in Council: the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairpersons for terms not to exceed five years, the Members for terms not to exceed three years. The Board currently consists of the Chairperson, five full-time and two part-time Vice-Chairpersons, and five full-time and two part-time Members. There currently is a vacancy for a full-time employer-side Member and one Vice-Chairperson's term will expire at the end of September 2011. Information on the Board members can be found at: http://www.cirb-ccri.gc.ca/about-apropos/members-membres/index_eng.asp.
The Chairperson is the chief executive officer of the Board and has supervision over, and direction of, the work of the Board, including:
- the assignment and reassignment of matters that the Board is seized of to panels;
- the composition of panels and the assignment of Vice-Chairpersons to preside over panels;
- the determination of the date, time and place of hearing;
- the conduct of the Board's work;
- the management of the Board's internal affairs;
- the duties of the staff of the Board.
The Board's headquarters are located in the National Capital Region. Support to the Board is provided by the Executive Director, reporting directly to the Chairperson. The Executive Director is responsible for regional operations, case management, client and corporate services and financial services. The Legal Services Branch provides legal assistance as required by the Board and is headed by a general counsel who reports directly to the Chairperson of the Board.
The Board has four regional offices located in Dartmouth, Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver, with two satellite offices, one in Ottawa and another in Winnipeg. These offices are staffed by labour relations professionals and case management teams. Each regional office is headed by a regional director, who reports to the Executive Director in Ottawa.
Strategic Outcome and Program Activity Architecture (PAA)
Strategic Outcome
In pursuing its mandate, the CIRB seeks to achieve the following strategic outcome:
The CIRB's current strategic outcome is aligned with the government's Economic Affairs and supports the government's desired outcome of ensuring a Fair and Secure Marketplace through the impartial, effective and appropriate administration of the rules governing the conduct of employers and unions, in order to ensure stable labour-management relations and productive workplaces.
Program Activity Architecture
Based on its legislated mandate, the CIRB has a single strategic outcome and two program activities.
Program Activity Architecture Crosswalk
The PAA shown above differs from the PAA provided in the Board's 2010–11 Report on Plans and Priorities against which the current performance report is based. Specifically, the CIRB, in consultation with the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS), reformulated its strategic outcome in 2011 to better describe the benefit that the CIRB ultimately provides to Canadians. The change has no financial impact, nor does it change the Board's program activities. The previous PAA is shown below for comparison.
Organizational Priorities
In addition to its objective of promoting and contributing to effective and stable industrial relations in the federally regulated private sector, the CIRB aims to be progressive, efficient and effective in the delivery of its mandate. During the reporting period, the Board continued its efforts to reduce processing time of new cases and to provide effective case management and dispute resolution mechanisms that best meet the needs of the clients. This is demonstrated in the table below:
| Priority | Type1 | Strategic Outcome(s) and/or Program Activity(ies) |
|---|---|---|
| Expeditious and fair processing of applications and complaints | Ongoing | This priority is linked to our sole strategic outcome: Effective dispute resolution services that support constructive labour-management relations in sectors regulated by the Canada Labour Code and directly linked to our main program activity: Adjudicative and Dispute Resolution Program |
| Status: Exceeded | ||
|
||
| Priority | Type | Strategic Outcome(s) and/or Program Activity(ies) |
|---|---|---|
| Successful resolution of labour relations problems through appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms | Ongoing | This priority is linked to our sole strategic outcome: Effective dispute resolution services that support constructive labour-management relations in sectors regulated by the Canada Labour Code and directly linked to our main program activity: Adjudicative and Dispute Resolution Program |
| Status: Met all | ||
|
||
| Priority | Type | Strategic Outcome(s) and/or Program Activity(ies) |
|---|---|---|
| An involved and well-informed labour relations community | Ongoing | This priority is linked to our sole strategic outcome: Effective dispute resolution services that support constructive labour-management relations in sectors regulated by the Canada Labour Code and directly linked to our main program activity: Adjudicative and Dispute Resolution Program |
| Status: Exceeded | ||
|
||
| Priority | Type | Strategic Outcome(s) and/or Program Activity(ies) |
|---|---|---|
| Operational effectiveness and compliance with government-wide Accountability Framework | Ongoing | This priority is linked to our sole strategic outcome: Effective dispute resolution services that support constructive labour-management relations in sectors regulated by the Canada Labour Code and linked to the following program activity: Internal Services |
| Status: Met all | ||
|
||
Risk Analysis
The CIRB is a low risk agency. Financially, approximately four fifths (81%) of its $13 million operating budget is for salaries and benefits. Of the remaining $2.6 million in Operations and Maintenance (O&M), 55% is for travel and professional services, and is largely related to the processing of cases such as travel to external hearings, temporary rental of hearing rooms, interpretation services and translation of Board decisions. The Board adheres to Treasury Board policies for the expenditure of its O&M budget and an audit conducted by the Office of the Comptroller General in the Spring of 2011 has confirmed that the Board's core controls over financial management are effective and generally executed in compliance with TBS policies and directives.
Operating environment
The Board has an ongoing planning challenge in that the CIRB's sole function is to respond to the matters referred to it by unions, employers, employees and the Minister of Labour. As such, the CIRB's operational activities are driven by external demands that it can only react to rather than plan for.
The Board's workload is a function of many variables, but the economic environment is a key determinant of the types of cases submitted to the Board. For example, corporate mergers, acquisitions and restructuring tend to increase the demand for bargaining unit reviews. Corporate bankruptcies and insolvencies frequently result in a loss of or decrease in the level of collectively bargained salary and employment benefits, with resultant increases in duty of fair representation (DFR) and bad faith bargaining complaints. The negotiation or renegotiation of collective agreements in areas essential to public health or safety creates demand for Board investigations and rulings on maintenance of activities issues.
Although the nature of the demand for Board services may vary, depending on the state of the economy, the absolute number of incoming applications and complaints has remained relatively constant over the last few years, with only a marginal decrease during 2010–11 compared to the previous fiscal year. In addition, the profile of cases received by the Board in 2010–11 has not changed significantly from the previous year except for a slight increase in the number of certification applications and the number of applications for a declaration of an illegal strike or lockout.
Processing Time
The Board's largest operational risk is associated with the number of applications and complaints it receives in a given year, combined with its ability to continue to reduce its backlog of cases. To mitigate this risk, priority is given to the processing and consideration of matters in which it appears that delay will pose a significant potential for adverse industrial relations consequences, or where other identifiable factors require a matter to be promptly addressed. In recent years, the CIRB also adopted and implemented new procedures for the processing of certification applications and DFR complaints. This has resulted in significant improvements in the processing of both types of applications. The average processing time for certification applications was reduced by 50% over the previous year and the average processing time for DFR complaints was, for a second consecutive year, half of what it was two years ago.
Quality of Decisions
In addition to the timeliness of decisions, a second operational risk involves the quality of the decisions. Decisions that are not based on sound legal and industrial relations principles would not only lead to flawed jurisprudence, but would also create uncertainty in the client community. It should be noted that all but two judicial review applications to the Federal Court of Appeal were dismissed in 2010–11. This underscores the importance of the timeliness and quality of Governor-in-Council appointments that are made to the Board and the experience and expertise that these appointees bring to it.
Financial and Human Resources Management
The Board's workload can vary significantly from time to time and from region to region. The CIRB's ability to respond and adjust rapidly to meet the demand is critical in ensuring timely and seamless delivery of services across the country. The CIRB has taken steps to implement an exchange program that enables staff to shadow colleagues in other offices and build practical experience in both headquarter and regional offices. This has encouraged mobility of staff and the sharing of workload where necessary.
In addition, the CIRB, like most of the federal public service, is facing challenges with employee retention and departures due to retirement. In the last year alone, two regional directors have retired and a number of staff in other key positions have either retired or left the Board for opportunities in other departments. As the CIRB is a small and specialized organization, the impact of staff turnover can be significant. Maintaining continuity of the Board's corporate knowledge requires sustained focus on recruitment, training and succession planning. In the past two years, the Board has responded by putting in place development programs and by facilitating learning assignments for industrial relations officers, case management officers and communications officers. This has resulted in indeterminate appointments of highly qualified internal candidates in higher level positions. This initiative has also permitted retention of corporate knowledge while some employees explored other career opportunities within the organization through deployments.
Summary of Performance
2010–11 Financial Resources ($ thousands)
| Planned Spending | Total Authorities | Actual Spending |
|---|---|---|
| 13,017 | 13,687 | 13,287 |
2010–11 Human Resources (FTEs)
| Planned | Actual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| 110 | 102.5 | -7.5 |
| Performance Indicators | Targets | 2010–11 Performance |
|---|---|---|
| CIRB decisions overturned by the Federal Court of Appeal | Less than one percent of all decisions rendered are overturned by the Federal Court of Appeal | Two decisions of the Board were overturned by the Federal Court of Appeal representing 0.4% of all decisions rendered by the Board during the year |
| Number of applications/complaints resolved through mediation | Fifty percent of cases are resolved through mediation | Forty-eight percent of unfair labour practice complaints were either settled or withdrawn without the need for adjudication |
| Decisions are issued within statutory deadlines | Average decision-making time is less than 90 days from the date the Board reserved its decision | The average decision-making time is 64 days |
| Reduction of CIRB's average case disposition time | Seventy percent of cases are processed in less than one year | Eighty-five percent were processed in less than one year |
| Program Activity | 2009–10 Actual Spending ($ thousands) |
2010–112 ($ thousands) | Alignment to Government of Canada Outcome | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main Estimates |
Planned Spending |
Total Authorities |
Actual Spending |
|||
| Adjudication and Dispute Resolution Program | 9,546 | 9,437 | 9,437 | 9,753 | 9,468 | Fair and Secure Marketplace The CIRB promotes stable industrial relations within the industrial sectors that fall under federal jurisdiction, thus ensuring safe, fair and productive workplaces that contribute positively to the Canadian economy |
| Internal Services | 3,780 | 3,580 | 3,580 | 3,934 | 3,819 | |
| Total | 13,326 | 13,017 | 13,017 | 13,687 | 13,287 | |
Expenditure Profile
The difference between planned spending and total authorities represents adjustments made to the Board's budget to address costs related to employee benefits and reflect amounts carried over from the previous year.
Estimates by Vote
For information on our organizational Votes and/or statutory expenditures, please see the 2010–11 Public Accounts of Canada (Volume II) publication. An electronic version of the Public Accounts is available on the Public Works and Government Services Canada Website.3
